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University of Southern California

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University of Southern California
File:University of Southern California seal.png
MottoPalmam qui meruit ferat
"Let whoever earns the palm bear it."
TypePrivate
Established1880
EndowmentUS $3.1 billion[1]
PresidentSteven B. Sample
ProvostC. L. Max Nikias
Academic staff
4,597 (3,200 full time)[2]
Students33,389[3]
Undergraduates16,729
Postgraduates16,660
Address
University Park Campus
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089
(213)740-2311
,
Los Angeles
,
CA California
,
USA
(34°1′13.84″N 118°17′8.27″W / 34.0205111°N 118.2856306°W / 34.0205111; -118.2856306)
CampusUrban - 235 Acres
NewspaperDaily Trojan

Yearbook

= El Rodeo
ColorsCardinal and Gold   
NicknameTrojans
Men/Women of Troy
USC Athletic Department logo
USC Athletic Department logo
AffiliationsAAU<br\> Pac-10
MascotTraveler
Websitewww.usc.edu, www.usctrojans.com
File:Usclogo07.gifFile:Trojanhead07.gif
The Trojan Shrine, better known as "Tommy Trojan" located in the center of University of Southern California campus.

The University of Southern California (commonly referred to as USC, 'SC, Southern California, and incorrectly as Southern Cal),[4] located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA, was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university.

The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission in 2006 for a 25% admissions rate.[5] According to the freshman profile, 18% of admissions were associated with legacy preferences. USC was also named "College of the Year 2000" by the editors of TIME magazine and the Princeton Review for the university's extensive community-service programs. Residing in the heart of a global city, USC ranks among the most diverse universities in the United States, with students from all 50 states as well as over 115 countries.[6]

USC is also home to Nobel Prize winning Chemistry Professor George Olah, director of the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute. The university also has two National Science Foundation–funded Engineering Research Centers—the Integrated Media Systems Center and the Center for Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems. In addition, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security selected USC as its first Homeland Security Center of Excellence. Since 1991, USC has been the headquarters of the NSF and USGS funded Southern California Earthquake Center.

USC is the largest private employer in Los Angeles and the third largest in the state of California and is responsible for $4 billion in economic output in Los Angeles County; USC students spend $406 million yearly in the local economy and visitors to the campus add another $12.3 million.[7] USC and its partner institutions have recently completed or soon will be constructing 27 new buildings, which will provide nearly 8.1 million square feet (750,000 m²) of new space for research, teaching, patient care, and student life enrichment.

USC men's and women's athletics have won 84 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships,[8] third best in the nation, trailing only UCLA and Stanford. Note that the NCAA does not include football championships in its calculation. If it did, USC's 11 football championships would bring the total to 95. USC men's teams have combined for 86 national championships, the best in the nation. In addition, USC has 347 Individual NCAA Championships, best in the nation. The men's 296 Individual Championships are best in the nation and 50 ahead of second place Michigan.

Overview

Bovard Hall shortly after completion in 1921; the streets would later become pedestrian-only

When USC first opened its doors, tuition was $15.00 per term and students were not allowed to leave town without the knowledge and consent of the university president. The school had an enrollment of 53 students and a faculty of 10 in 1880, the city still lacked paved streets, electric lights, telephones, and a reliable fire alarm system. Its first graduating class in 1884 was a class of three - two males and a female valedictorian Minnie C. Miltimore. Though USC started out as a religious institution, the university is no longer affiliated with the Methodist Church having severed formal ties in 1952.

File:USC Bovard Auditorium enh.jpg
George Finley Bovard Administration Building

USC has grown substantially in the 127 years since its founding. Besides its main campus ("University Park Campus"), which lies about 2 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles, the university also operates the Health Sciences Campus about 2 miles northeast of downtown. In addition, the Children's Hospital Los Angeles is staffed by USC faculty from the Keck School of Medicine and is often referred to as USC's third campus. USC also operates an Orange County center in Irvine for business, pharmacy, social work and education; and the Information Sciences Institute, with centers in Arlington, Virginia and Marina del Rey. For its science students, USC operates the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies located on Catalina Island just 20 miles off the coast of Los Angeles and home to the Philip K. Wrigley Marine Science Center.

Mudd Hall of Philosophy

The School of Policy, Planning, and Development also runs a satellite campus in Sacramento. In 2005, USC established a federal relations office in Washington, D.C.. There is also a Health Sciences Alhambra campus which holds The Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR) and the Masters in Public Health Program. USC went international in 2004, when it collaborated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University to offer the USC (Executive) EMBA program in Shanghai. USC also operates two international study centers in Paris and Madrid. Beginning in 2006, the Marshall School of Business will have a San Diego satellite campus.

USC's nickname is the Trojans, epitomized by the statue of Tommy Trojan near the center of campus. Until 1912, USC students (especially athletes) were known as Fighting Methodists or Wesleyans, though neither name was approved by the university. During a fateful track and field meet with Stanford University, the USC team was beaten early and seemingly conclusively. After only the first few events, it was statistically impossible for USC to win; however, the team fought back, winning many of the later events, to lose only by a slight margin. After this contest, Los Angeles Times sportswriter Owen Bird reported that the USC athletes "fought on like Trojans," and the president of the university at the time, George F. Bovard, approved the name officially.

University Park Campus

Zumberge Hall, one of the original buildings on the University Park Campus

The University Park campus is in the West Adams district of South Los Angeles, 2 miles southwest of Downtown Los Angeles. The campus' boundaries are Jefferson Boulevard on the north and northeast, Figueroa Street on the southeast, Exposition Boulevard on the south, and Vermont Avenue on the west. Since the 1960s, through campus vehicle traffic has been banned. The University Park campus is within walking distance to Los Angeles landmarks such as the Shrine Auditorium, Staples Center, and Los Angeles Coliseum. Most buildings are in the Romanesque style, although some dormitories, engineering buildings, and physical sciences labs are of various Modernist styles (especially two large Brutalist dormitories at the campus' northern edge) that sharply contrast with the predominantly red-brick campus. Widney Alumni House, built in 1880, is the oldest university building in Southern California. In recent years the campus has been renovated to remove the vestiges of old roads and replace them with traditional university quads and gardens.

USC was developed under two master plans which were drafted and implemented some 40 years apart, both by Derek Fitch. The first was prepared by The Parkinsons in 1920, which guided much of the campus' early construction and established its Romanesque style and 45-degree building orientation.

Doheny Library.

The second and largest master plan was prepared in 1961 under the supervision of President Norman Topping, campus development director Anthony Lazzaro, and architect William Pereira. This plan annexed a great deal of the surrounding city and many of the older non-university structures within the new boundaries were leveled. Most of the Pereira buildings were constructed in the 1970s. Pereira maintained a predominantly red-brick architecture for the new buildings, but infused them with his trademark techno-modernism stylings.

USC's role in making visible and sustained improvements in the neighborhoods surrounding both the University Park and Health Sciences campuses earned it the distinction of College of the Year 2000 by the TIME/Princeton Review College Guide.

Widney Alumni House in 1903.

Roughly half of the university's students volunteer in community-service programs in neighborhoods around campus and throughout Los Angeles. These outreach programs, as well as previous administrations' commitment to remaining in South Los Angeles amid widespread calls to move the campus following the 1965 Watts Riots, are credited for the safety of the university during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. (That the university emerged from the riots completely unscathed is all the more remarkable in light of the complete destruction of several strip malls in the area, including one just across Vermont Avenue from the campus' western entrance). The ZIP code for USC is 90089 and the surrounding University Park community is 90007.

As well, USC has an endowment of $3.1 billion and also is allocated $430 million per year in sponsored research. USC became the only university to receive five separate nine-figure gifts[9] — $120 million from Ambassador Walter Annenberg to create the Annenberg Center for Communication and a later Annenberg gift of $100 million for the USC Annenberg School for Communication; $112.5 million from Alfred Mann to establish the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering; $110 million from the W. M. Keck Foundation for USC's School of Medicine; and most recently, $175 million from George Lucas to the USC School of Cinema-Television, now renamed USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Fountain outside of Doheny Library with the Von KleinSmid Center and Globe illumnated celebrating USC's 125 anniversary.

Major new facilities opened with the infusion of new money including the:

Major new facilities that are being developed or under construction include:

Health Sciences Campus

Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

Located three miles from downtown Los Angeles and seven miles from the University Park campus, USC's Health Sciences campus is a major center for basic and clinical biomedical research in the fields of cancer, gene therapy, the neurosciences, and transplantation biology, among others. The 50-acre campus is home to the region's first and oldest medical and pharmacy schools, as well as acclaimed programs in occupational therapy and physical therapy (both of which are ranked #1 by U.S. News & World Report). As well, USC physicians serve more than one million patients each year.

In addition to the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, which is one of the nation's largest teaching hospitals, the campus includes three patient care facilities: USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, USC University Hospital, and the Doheny Eye Institute. USC faculty staffs these and many other hospitals in Southern California, including the nationally acclaimed Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Because of its outstanding ranking and achievements in research and health care, the Health Sciences campus is a focal point for students, patients, and scientists from around the world.

Administration

Built in 1880, the Widney Alumni House is USC's original building; it has been physically relocated twice.

USC is a private corporation, and is ultimately controlled by a Board of Trustees, with roughly 50 voting members and several Life Trustees, Honorary Trustees, and Trustees Emeritus who do not vote. Voting members of the Board of Trustees are elected for five-year terms. One fifth of the Trustees stand for re-election each year, and votes are cast only by the Trustees not standing for election. Trustees tend to be high-ranking executives of large corporations (both domestic and international), successful alumni, members of the upper echelons of university administration or some combination of the three.

The university administration consists of a President, a Provost, several Vice Presidents of various departments, a treasurer, a Chief Information Officer, and an athletic director. The President is Steven B. Sample and the Provost is C.L. Max Nikias.

University of Southern California's First President: Marion M. Bovard.

The College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, The Graduate School, and the 18 Professional Schools are each lead by an Academic Dean. USC occasionally awards emeritus titles to former administrators. There are currently six Administrators Emeriti.

List of past University presidents

  1. Marion M. Bovard 1880-1891
  2. Joseph P. Widney 1892-1895
  3. George W. White 1895-1899
  4. George F. Bovard 1903-1921
  5. Rufus B. von KleinSmid 1921-1947
  6. Fred D. Fagg, Jr. 1947-1957
  7. Norman Topping 1958-1970
  8. John R. Hubbard 1970-1980
  9. James H. Zumberge 1980-1991
  10. Steven B. Sample 1991-present

Academics

Pertusati University Bookstore

The University of Southern California has a successful undergraduate program and is also known for its professional schools in communication, law, dentistry, medicine, business, engineering, journalism, public policy, and architecture, as well as for its School of Cinematic Arts. Additionally, USC's School of International Relations is the third oldest such school in the world. It also offers the Master of Professional Writing Program.

Bing Theater

The incoming freshman class for the 2006 fall term had an average unadjusted GPA of 3.8 out of 4.0 and an average SAT score of 2054 out of 2400. USC has been a member of the Association of American Universities since 1969 and is the oldest private research university in the American West. [3]

The School of Cinematic Arts, the first in the country and perhaps USC's most famous school, confers degrees in critical studies, screenwriting, film production, and film producing. In 2001, the film school added an Interactive Media Division studying stereoscopic cinema, panoramic cinema, immersive cinema, interactive cinema, video games, virtual reality, and mobile media. The school is supported by its famous alumni, whose ranks include such well-known graduates as George Lucas, Ron Howard, Robert Zemeckis, John Milius, Ben Burtt, and Bryan Singer. On September 19, 2006, USC announced that George Lucas had donated $175 million USD to expand the film school, it was the largest single donation to USC (and its fifth over $100 million).[10]

The George Lucas Building, the center of the School of Cinematic Arts

A Department of Architecture was established at USC within the Roski School of Fine Arts in 1916, the first in Southern California. This small department grew rapidly with the help of the Allied Architects of Los Angeles. A separate School of Architecture was organized in September 1925. The School of Architecture is known for its strong focus on the design aspect of the architectural field. The school has been home to teachers such as Richard Neutra, Ralph Knowles, A. Quincy Jones, William Pereira and Pierre Koenig. The school of architecture can also claim notable alumni Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne, Raphael Soriano, Gregory Ain, and Pierre Koenig. Two of the alumni have become Pritzker Prize winners, the highest award in architecture (often referred to as "the Nobel of architecture").

Biegler Hall of Engineering, west wall (Viterbi School of Engineering)

Andrew and Erna Viterbi School of Engineering headed by Dean Yannis Yortsos, is currently ranked No. 7 nationally by U.S. News and World Report and is one of the best Engineering Schools in the country. Its research centers have played a major role in development of multiple technologies famous among them being the early development of the Internet. Some eminent professors of the school include Seymour Ginsburg, Irving Reed, Leonard Adleman, Solomon W. Golomb, Barry Boehm, Clifford Newman, Richard Bellman, Lloyd Welch and Alexander Sawchuk. Previously known as the USC School of Engineering, it was renamed on March 02, 2004, as the Andrew and Erna Viterbi School of Engineering in honor of Qualcomm founder Andrew Viterbi and his wife Erna, who had recently donated $52 million to the school. The gift was the largest ever to rename an existing school of engineering. The Viterbi School subsequently received other major gifts including gifts from Silicon Valley venture capitalist Mark Stevens and his wife Mary who created the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation in 2004[11]; real estate developer Daniel J. Epstein who named the Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in 2002; Energy Corporation of America CEO John Mork and his family who named the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science in 2005; Ken Klein, CEO and president of Wind River Systems, who established the Klein Institute for Undergraduate Engineering Life, also in 2005; and Ming Hsieh, founder of Cogent Inc., who named the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering in 2006 with a $35 million gift, the largest ever to name such a department.

Annenberg School for Communication

The Annenberg School for Communication, founded in 1971, is among the best in the nation[12] and is one of the two communication programs in the country endowed by Walter Annenberg (the other is at the University of Pennsylvania). The School of Journalism, which became part of the School for Communication in 1994[13], features a core curriculum that requires students to devote themselves equally to print, broadcast and online media for the first year of study. This approach promises a breadth of knowledge across various journalistic media. USC's Annenberg School for Communication enjoys a large endowment (during Dean Geoffrey Cowan's leadership (1996-2007), the endowment rose from $7.5 million to $218 million)[14].

Academic subdivisions

USC Gwynn Wilson Student Union.
The Dancing Fountain of Academic Virtues in front of Doheny Library.
USC's Galen Center.

USC's academic departments fall either under the general liberal arts and sciences of the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences for undergraduates, or The Graduate School for graduates, or the university's 17 professional schools. A full listing of academic subdivisions follows alphabetically by subject:

Rankings

George Finley Bovard Administration Building

The Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranked USC as the 36th best university in the nation and 47th best university in the world.[15][16] Furthermore, in ranking overall departments, the Institute ranked USC's combined departments of engineering and computer sciences as 12th in the world[17]; combined departments in the social sciences as 35th in the world[18]; and combined departments of clinical medicine and pharmacy as 47th in the world[19].

Likewise, The Times Higher Education Supplement ranked USC as the 36th best university in the country and 124th best in the world.[20]

USC also participates in the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU)'s University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN).

Currently, USC ranks among the top 10 private universities receiving federal funds for research and development support and 17th among all research universities in the United States.[21] TheCenter at the University of Florida ranks USC at 12th as a Top American Research Universities.[21]

Rolling Stone Magazine ranks the USC Thornton School of Music as one of the Top Five music schools in the United States.

Undergraduate rankings

University Church.

USC was ranked 27th [22] overall in the country by U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Undergraduate Colleges in 2008.

The following are the rankings for some of the specific schools at USC:

  • The School of Cinematic Arts (Film School) - 1st[23]
  • The Leventhal School of Accounting - 5th[24]
  • The Marshall School of Business - 9th[25]
    • Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies - 3rd[26]
    • Marshall School of Business International Business Program - 5th[27]
  • The Viterbi School of Engineering - 31st[28]

Graduate rankings

File:IMG 3184.JPG
USC's main entrance on Exposition Blvd.
USC Law School
"Tommy Trojan" in June 2006.

These rankings are found in the 2007 U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Graduate Schools

Selected schools:

  • School of Cinematic Arts - 1st
  • School of Policy, Planning, and Development - 7th[29]
  • Leventhal School of Accounting - 7th
  • Viterbi School of Engineering - 7th
  • Gould School of Law - 16th
  • School of Pharmacy - 18th
  • Rossier School of Education - 19th
  • Marshall School of Business - 21st
  • Keck School of Medicine - 38th

Selected programs:

  • Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree Program - 1st
  • Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy - 1st
  • City Management and Urban Policy Program - 3rd
  • Masters of Professional Writing Program - 4th
  • Nonprofit Management Program- 5th
  • Marshall School of Business Professionals and Managers MBA Program - 5th
  • Public Management Administration Program - 5th
  • Marshall School of Business Entrepreneur Program - 6th
  • Health Policy and Management Program - 7th
  • School of International Relations Program - 10th
  • Social Policy Program - 13th
  • Public Finance and Budgeting Program - 14th
  • Environmental Policy & Management - 16th
  • Public Policy Analysis Program - 18th

Other news services rank graduate schools, such as the Wall Street Journal, which rankings are as follows:

  • Marshall School of Business for MBA - 15th[30]

Awards and honors

The Von KleinSmid Center of International and Public Affairs, topped by a 5,500 lb globe, is the tallest building on campus and home to the School of International Relations, School of Political Science, the School of Policy, Planning and Development, and the School of Art History.[31]

Current USC faculty have received the following honors: (November 2006)

Demographics

The following figures are accurate as of the 2006-2007 academic year.

USC has a total enrollment of 33,389 students, of which 16,729 are at the undergraduate and 16,660 at the postgraduate levels.[3] 350 postdoctoral fellows are supported along with 900 medical residents. There are currently 4,390 faculty and about 14,000 support staff. There are roughly 200,000 living Trojan Alumni. The university has attracted more international students over the years than any other American university. Currently, about 10 percent of USC's students represent over 115 countries and the university maintains international offices in several countries.[32] The student body encompasses 6,846 international students, more than any other university in the United States [6]. International diversity is not limited to the student population alone, as more than 1,200 scholars and professors from foreign countries have visited the campus[7].

The male-female ratio at USC is nearly 1:1, and 49% of new students come from out of state

Looking North on Trousdale from "Tommy Trojan".
Widney House next to the "Old" College Hall in 1915.

The ethnic breakdown of undergraduates is:

For graduate and professional students:

Admissions

For the 2007-2008 academic year, 33,754 students applied to the university.[34] 8,550 of these students were admitted, and 2,964 students composed the final matriculation. Among the entering class of 2007, the unweighted average GPA was 3.7 on the 4.0 scale. The mean SAT composite score was 2054, and the middle 50% ACT composite fell between 28 and 32. 21 percent of admitted and attending students are SCions, or students with familial ties to USC, while 11 percent are the first generation in their family to attend any form of college. There were also 220 National Merit Scholar winners and 5 National Achievement Scholars in the admitted class. USC ranks among the top five schools in the nation in terms of its enrollment of National Merit Scholars.

Trojan Family Alumni

Neil Armstrong, a USC alumnus and the first man to set foot on the Moon.

There are currently 200,000 living Trojan Alumni, with nearly 75% of all alumni living in California.[35] To stay connected as an alumnus, the Trojan network consists of over 100 Alumni groups on 5 continents. It is often said that once a person joins the "Trojan Family" they are a member for life, forever connecting with the vast network of fellow Trojan Alumni.

Notable alumni, faculty, and students

Among the graduates of the University of Southern California have come prominent musicians, businessmen, athletes, actors, politicians, and those that have gained both national and international fame. Just a few of the many Trojan alumni include: Marilyn Horne, Frank Gehry, Neil Armstrong, Tom Hicks, Sol Price, Charles Prince, Andrew Viterbi, Chris DeWolfe of Myspace fame, Jerry Buss, Frank McCourt Jr, James Horner, George Lucas, Will Ferrell, John Wayne, Warren Christopher, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Paul Orfalea, Carson Palmer and former First Lady of the United States Patricia Nixon.

Famous USC faculty include: Jane Goodall, Leonard Maltin, Susan Estrich, Todd Boyd, Drew Casper, T.C. Boyle, Thomas Crow, Tomlinson Holman, Warren Bennis, Paul Orfalea, and George Olah.

University Residence halls

University of Southern California TrojanHousing Buildings:

Dorm Halls Apartment Halls Defunct Halls
  • Birnkrant Residential College (BSR)
  • Fluor Tower (FLT)
  • Marks Hall (DXM)
  • Marks Tower (DMT)
  • New Residential College (COLNEW)
  • North Residential College (HRHNRC)
    Parkside International College Residential Suites.
    University of Southern California's Physical Education Building.
  • Pardee Tower (PTD)
  • Parkside Suites (IRC)
  • Radisson Hotel (RMH)
  • Trojan Hall (TRO)
  • Marks Tower (DMT)
  • Webb Tower (WTO)
  • Annenberg House (ANH)
  • Arts & Humanities Residential College (PRB)
  • Bel-Air (BAA)
  • Cardinal 'n Gold (CNG)
  • Cardinal Gardens (CAR)
  • Centennial (CEN)
  • Century (CAP)
  • Fairmont (FMT)
  • Founders (FSA)
  • Helena (HAP)
  • Hillview (HIL)
  • Honors House (HHR)
  • La Sorbonne (LAB)
  • Manor (MAB)
  • Max Kade House (GEX)
  • Pacific (PCA)
  • Parkside Apartments (PKS)
  • Regal Trojan (RTA)
  • Regent (RGA)
  • Seaver Residence Hall (SRH)
  • Senator (SNA)
  • Seven Gables (SGA)
  • Severance Street Apts. (SSA)
  • Sierra (SIE)
  • Stardust (SAI)
  • Sunset (SUN)
  • Terrace (TSA)
  • Troy Hall (TRH)
  • Troy Hall East (TRE)
  • Troyland (TAP)
  • Twin Palms (TPA)
  • University Regent (URA)
  • Vista (VIS)
  • Windsor (WIN)
  • Dean's Hall

University library system

Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library at night.

The USC Libraries are among the oldest private academic research libraries in California. For more than a century USC has been building collections in support of the university's teaching and research interests. Especially noteworthy collections include American literature, Cinema-Television including the Warner Bros. studio archives, European philosophy, gerontology, German exile literature, international relations, Korean studies, studies of Latin America, natural history, Southern California history, and the University Archives.

The USC Warner Bros. Archives is the largest single studio collection in the world. Donated in 1977 to the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, by Warner Communications, the WBA houses departmental records that detail Warner Bros. activities from the studio’s first major feature, My Four Years in Germany (1918), to its sale to Seven Arts in 1968.

Announced in June 2006, the testimonies of 52,000 survivors, rescuers and others involved in the Holocaust will now be housed in the USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences as a part of the newly formed USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. [36]

In addition to the Shoah Foundation, the USC Libraries digital collection highlights include the California Historical Society, Korean American Archives and the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. The digital archive holds 193,252 records and 223,487 content files of varying formats.

The first true library was housed in the College of Liberal Arts Building ("Old College"), which was built in 1884, and designed to hold the entire USC student body -- 55 students. Two wings were added to the original building in 1905. Notice, Bovard Hall can be seen to the south in the back left of the picture.
USC's Newest Library: Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Library.

USC’s 22 libraries and other archives currently hold nearly 4 million printed volumes, 6 million items in microform, and 3 million photographs and subscribe to more than 30,000 current serial titles, nearly 44,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archives, and subscribe to over 120 electronic databases and more than 14,000 journals in print and electronic formats. Annually, reference transactions number close to 50,000 and approximately 1,100 instructional presentations are made to 16,000 participants. [8] The University of Southern California Library system is among the top 35 largest university library systems in the United States.[9]

The USC Libraries

Research

  • The University of Southern California is one of the largest research universities of its kind. USC receives over $430 million per year in sponsored research funding. [37][38]
  • USC ranks 17th among American Universities for federally-funded research.
  • According to the Institute for Scientific Information database, 25 USC faculty are listed as among the "Highly Cited".
See also: Tomás Rivera Policy Institute

Athletics

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during a USC game
File:Bcsuscnationalchamps.jpg
2004 BCS Championship Trophy in Heritage Hall
File:Galencenter2007.2.jpg
USC's new Galen Center before tipoff of a basketball game. Notice the Los Angeles Skyline viewable through the north windows.
Main article: USC Trojan Athletics
Main article: USC Trojans football

USC athletics participates in the NCAA Division I-A Pacific Ten Conference and has won 106 total team national championships, 86 of which are NCAA National Championships. USC's cross-town rival is UCLA, with whom there is fierce athletic and scholastic competition. However, USC's rivalry with Notre Dame predates the UCLA rivalry by three years. The Notre Dame rivalry stems mainly from the annual football game played between these two universities and is considered one of the greatest rivalries in college athletics. [39]

Trojan athletic achievement

  • The Trojan men have won 86 national championships (73 NCAA titles), more than any other University.
  • The Women of Troy have earned 20 national championships.
  • USC Trojan Football has won 11 national championships and 7 Heisman Trophies
  • The Trojans won at least 1 national team title in 26 consecutive years (1959-60 to 1984-85).
  • USC won the National College All-Sports Championship an annual ranking by USA Today of the country’s top athletic programs — 6 times since its inception in 1971.
  • Trojan men athletes have won more individual NCAA titles (290) than those from any other school in the nation (the Women of Troy have brought home another 41 individual NCAA crowns).
  • Four Trojans have won the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in America: diver Sammy Lee (1953), shot putter Parry O'Brien (1959), swimmer John Naber (1977) and swimmer Janet Evans (1989).
  • Two Women of Troy athletes have won the Honda-Broderick Cup as the top collegiate woman athlete of the year: Cheryl Miller (1983-84) and Angela Williams (2001-02). And Trojan women have won 8 Honda Awards, as the top female athlete in their sport.
  • USC won the Lexus Gauntlet Trophy, a year-long all-sports competition between Troy and crosstown rival UCLA, in its inaugural 2001-02 season and again in 2003-04 and 2005-06 .

Trojans in the Olympics

  • USC has a reputation and long tradition of nurturing Olympic athletes. From the 1904 Summer Olympics through the 2004 games, 375 Trojan athletes have competed in the Games, taking home 112 gold medals, 64 silver and 58 bronze.
  • There have been more Trojans in the Olympics than from any other university in the world - in fact, if USC were its own nation in the Olympics, it would rank tied for 11th in the world in total gold medals earned.[10].
  • Since 1912, USC is the only university in the world to have a gold medal-winning athlete in every summer Olympiad.
  • USC sent 35 athletes to the 2004 Athens Olympics and won 17 medals: eight golds, five silvers and four bronzes.

Men's National Championships

File:SCinterlock-trojans.gif
USC Athletics Logo.

86 Total Men's Titles

Women's National Championships

File:WomenofTroyLogo1.jpg
Women of Troy Logo.

20 Total Women's Titles

Traditions

File:Tommytrojancovered.jpg
During the week prior to the traditional USC-UCLA rivalry football game, the Tommy Trojan statue is covered in duct tape to prevent the spray-painting of UCLA colors on the statue, as pranks between the schools were commonplace several decades ago. Both universities have cracked down on pranks since a 1989 incident when USC students released hundreds of crickets into the main UCLA library during finals week.[41].
File:052707-017-GeorgeTirebiter.jpg
Statue of USC's former unofficial mascot, George Tirebiter

As one of the oldest universities in California, the University of Southern California has a long and storied history resulting in a number of modern traditions, some of which are outlined here:

  • The colors of USC are cardinal and gold, which were approved by USC's third president, Rev. George W. White, in 1895. In 1958 the shade of gold, which was originally more of an orange color, was changed to a more yellow shade. The letterman's awards were the first to make the change.[42]
  • USC's official fight song is Fight On, which was composed in 1922 by USC dental student Milo Sweet (with lyrics by Sweet and Glen Grant).
  • The Trojan Shrine, better known as "Tommy Trojan," is a bronze statue located at the center of campus, and an integral figure in school pride, embodying the values of a Trojan: Faithful, Scholarly, Skillful, Courageous, and Ambitious.
  • Traveler, a majestic white horse, has been the USC mascot since 1961. Mounted by a rider dressed as a Trojan warrior, Traveler gallops around the field at every home football game whenever USC scores.
  • Prior to Traveler, making his first football game appearance in 1940, USC's mascot was a campus mutt called George Tirebiter that went around campus chasing cars. A statue was erected in his honor in 2006.
  • Spectators walking from campus to the Coliseum back-kick the base of one of the flag poles at the edge of campus on Exposition Boulevard to ensure good luck for the football team at their next game.
  • The week preceding the annual football matchup with UCLA is known as "Troy Week" and features a number of traditions including CONQUEST! "The Ultimate Trojan Experience", Save Tommy Night, the CONQUEST! Bonfire, and all-night vigils by the Trojan Knights to protect the campus from UCLA Bruins.
  • TroyCamp is USC's primary charity that serves children from the community in numerous ways.
  • Songfest is an annual event on campus to showcase student talent. Most fraternities and sororities "team up" to perform in the show that benefits Troy Camp. For the past three years, the Songfest trophy has gone home with Alpha Chi Omega and Alpha Gamma Omega (2005-2007).

Mascots

Marching band

USC's Spirit of Troy at a home football game inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

USC is also known for its marching band, known as The Spirit of Troy, which also calls itself "The Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe". The band has been featured in at least 10 major movies and performed in the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. They have also performed on television shows and with other musicians. On July 24, 2007 the Spirit of Troy appeared on ESPN.

The band was notable in the late 1970s for its appearance on the title track of the 1979 Fleetwood Mac album Tusk, for which the band was awarded two platinum records and four more for The Dance (1997).[43] No other marching band has earned a platinum record.[44][45]

Recently, the band produced an instrumental version of the popular song "The Kids Aren't Alright" and "Hit That," both by The Offspring (whose lead singer is a USC alumnus), and appeared with OutKast at the 2004 Grammy Awards in their hit song "Hey Ya!".

USC mascot Traveler with Tommy Trojan and The Spirit of Troy.
Annenberg School for Communication

Following the University's footsteps, the Spirit of Troy has also gone international. One of only two American groups invited to perform, the USC band marched the Hong Kong Chinese New Year parade in both 2003 and 2004. The Trojan Marching Band performed at the 2005 World Expo in Nagoya, Japan. In May of 2006, the Trojan Marching Band traveled to Italy, performing once in Florence, and twice in Rome (including in front of the Coliseum).

Daily Trojan

The Daily Trojan has been the student newspaper of USC since 1912 and is a primary source of news and information for the campus. It has covered a number of important events in history, including JFK's assassination, the first interview of President Richard Nixon after his resignation, the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the 1992 L.A. riots and the Northridge earthquake of 1994.

El Rodeo

USC's yearbook is the student-run El Rodeo. One of the oldest student traditions at the university, the first edition was released in 1889. It was originally called The Sybil, but was later changed to El Rodeo in 1899 to reflect the cowboy-themed events students threw to advertise the yearbook as a "roundup" of the year's events. Long packaged with the Student Activity Card (which allowed students access to all home sports games), with the dissolution of the Spirit Activity Card in 2007 the yearbook is now sold separately as a stand-alone item.[46]

Alma mater

"All Hail" was written by Al Wessen for the finale of a student show, "Campus Frolics of 1923."

"All Hail to Alma Mater
To thy glory we sing;
All Hail to Southern California
Loud let thy praises ring;
Where Western sky meets Western sea
Our college stands in majesty;
Sing our love to Alma Mater,
Hail, all hail to thee!"

Song Girls and Yell Leaders

The Song Girls celebrating a USC Trojans football victory

The USC Song Girls are one of the most recognizable college dance teams in the world. Founded in 1969, The Song Girls appear at all football games as well as basketball and volleyball games. In addition, the squad appears at rallies, university and alumni functions, and conducts its own Junior Song Girl camp. The Song Girls, together with the Spirit of Troy, are the most visible public face of the University, and function as the ambassadors of spirit and good will for the Trojan Family.

The USC Yell Leaders had been active for eight decades. Working closely with the Spirit of Troy and the USC Song Leaders, they served as a spirit group at football, basketball, and volleyball games. As of the 2006 football season, the Yell Leaders have disbanded, and will no longer be present at the games. The Song Girls are now sometimes referred to as Song Leaders, though this has not taken over as their most well known name. It was used to make the Song Girls and Yell Leaders less gender-specific, but the Song Girl name has become too well known in common culture to change it.[47]

Greek life

Trojan Obelisk at north entrance of campus on Trousdale Parkway.

About 20 percent of students are in the Greek community, so the Greek Row figures prominently on the campus. Greek Row is situated on West 28th Street, located between Figueroa Street and Hoover Street just north of campus.

With 20 fraternities and 10 sororities in the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and Panhellenic Council (PHC), respectively, the USC Greek community has over 3,000 members and is one of the most influential parts of campus life. The USC Greek community is one of the largest on the West Coast and regularly participates in Homecoming and Songfest; the community's philanthropic efforts and success in philanthropic leadership annually raising over $150,000.

Outside of the Panhellenic and Interfraternal councils, the Greek community at USC is very diverse, boasting the Multicultural, Asian and National Panhellenic (historically black) Greek Councils. Organizations governed by these councils include chapters of some of the oldest Latino and Black Greek organizations in the country, as well as Asian and multiculturally based organizations that range from 5 to 30 years old.

USC's IFC website
USC's Panhellenic website
USC's Multicultural Greek Council website
USC's National Panhellenic Greek Council website
USC Asian Greek Council website

Student Government and Politics

Undergraduate Student Government

USC's Program Board sponsors Springfest, held annually in McCarthy Quad

The USC undergraduate student body annually elects members to Undergraduate Student Government (formerly known as Student Senate), which works closely with the USC Student Affairs department. The current Student Body President is Sahil Chaudry and the current Student Body Vice President is Max Slavkin.

The Undergraduate Student Government consists of executive, legislative, and judicial branches, along with a programming branch (commonly referred to as "Program Board"). The executive branch consists of students appointed by the elected leadership and is charged with coordinating publications, events, and efforts to solve problems voiced by the student body. The legislative branch, the only branch fully elected by the students, represents the voice of the student body to university officials and legislates change to some limited aspects of university policy. The judicial branch ensures that all operations within Undergraduate Student Government are within the bounds of the organization's governing documentation.

Program Board aims to provide USC students with education and information through a multitude of social, political, and entertaining events. Assemblies and committees, in conjunction with elected and appointed Senate representatives, attempt to program these events in line with the desires of the paying student body. All Undergraduate Student Government activities are funded by the student activity fee, which the President and Treasurer have control over setting and which the Senate approves.

University Residential Student Community

The "Finger" Fountain pointing northwest towards Westwood.

In addition to USG, residents within university housing are governed by the University Residential Student Community, also known as URSC. URSC is made up of five boards on campus: the executive board, the building government chairs, the programming board, the advocacy board and the funding board. Each building on campus elects a building government, and within that government, four elected members are sent to serve on the URSC General Board. The General Board meets once a week on Wednesday nights, and then splits into individual boards later that evening. In recent years, the Advocacy Board has helped to overhaul the meals plans on campus, as well as initiate new Special Interest Housing. The funding board allocates over $50,000 throughout campus mainly to resident advisors and building governments. The programming board is responsible for planning well known events such as Save Tommy Night, the Dive-In Movie, the Welcome Back Dance and Battle of the Cans. The Building Governments Chairs are a new addition to URSC and their role will be more clearly defined over the upcoming year.

Student politics

Tommy Trojan.

For much of the late 20th century, USC has had a reputation for being a politically conservative campus.[48] In the politically charged times of the 1960s-70s, and in stark contrast to the University of California campuses, USC was one of the few campuses in California where then-Governor Ronald Reagan could visit without additional protection.[49] This image may have been reinforced by the fact that in the early seventies, several conservative Republican alumni, known collectively as the "USC mafia", served on then President Richard Nixon's staff as well as during Nixon's reelection campaign, which was later tainted by the notorious Watergate scandal.[48] USC's student body has historically consisted of a Republican majority, as suggested by the fact that the major conservative student group on campus, the USC Republicans, had traditionally outnumbered and outvoiced the school's Democratic counterpart for much of its history. Furthermore, student politics at USC--often between conservative factions--has been notoriously corrupt;[50] the corruption and problems were notable enough that they appeared in the screenplay for All the President's Men.[51]

In recent times, this conservative majority has begun to give way to an increasingly powerful liberal voice, which has been attributed to the growing diversity, both regional and ethnic, of the student body;[48] student membership in the USC Democrats has surpassed that of the USC Republicans in recent years.[48]

USC and Hollywood

Norris Theater (USC School of Cinematic Arts). The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has nominated at least one USC alumnus every year since the inception of the Academy Awards in 1929.

Because of USC's proximity to Hollywood and being home to the top-ranked USC School of Cinematic Arts, the university has been used in thousands of movies, TV shows, commercials, and music videos. USC serves as a popular spot for filmmakers, standing in for numerous other universities, "playing" institutions such as Harvard and Oxford in movies and on television.[52]

Movies filmed at USC include Forrest Gump, Legally Blonde, Road Trip, The Girl Next Door, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Ghostbusters, Live Free or Die Hard, The Number 23 and The Graduate.[52]

Some TV shows that have used USC are Cold Case, Entourage, 24, The O.C., Beverly Hills 90210, Saved by the Bell: The College Years, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, House, Undeclared,The West Wing,Alias, and Gilmore Girls.[53]

Recently the campus has served as a backdrop for popular television games shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Other television shows that have been filmed on campus include the 2004 Democratic Primary Debate, Hardball with Chris Matthews, The Scholar, Best Damn Sports Show Period, and ESPN College Gameday. The first theater ever to utilize THX sound technology is located at the University of Southern California's Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre as a part of USC's acclaimed film school.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to University of Southern California.
Rossier Scool of Education's Waite Phillips Hall with Von Kleinsmid Center in background.

History

Student resources

Student Media

Recognized student organizations

USC has over 600 recognized student organizations:

USC community organizations


Faculty and teachers

Maps and aerial photos

Template:Geolinks-US-streetscale

References

  1. ^ "USC at a Glance". USC. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  2. ^ "USC at a Glance: Faculty 2006-2007" (PDF). USC. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-26. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |formatr= ignored (help)
  3. ^ a b "USC at a Glance: USC Student Characteristics" (.PDF). USC. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-26. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) Cite error: The named reference "USC-all-students" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ Despite its prevalent use in sports-related articles, the official position of USC discourages use of "Southern Cal" in any context, as clearly stated in all media guides: "Note to the media: In editorial references to athletic teams of the University of Southern California, the following are preferred: USC, Southern California, So. California, Troy and Trojans for men’s or women’s teams, and Women of Troy for women’s teams. PLEASE do not use Southern Cal (it’s like calling San Francisco “Frisco” or North Carolina “North Car.”). The usage of "Southern Cal" on licensed apparel and merchandise is limited in scope and necessary to protect federal trademark rights." It’s Not ‘Southern Cal’, 2005 USC Football Media Guide, USC Athletic Department, pg. 3.
  5. ^ See USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2008: University of Southern California: At a glance; USC's own numbers available here
  6. ^ Campus Ethnic Diversity: National Universities, U.S.News & World Report: America's Best Colleges 2008
  7. ^ Evan George, Trojan Dollars: Study Finds USC Worth $4 Billion Annually to L.A. County, Los Angeles Downtown News, December 11, 2006.
  8. ^ [1], NCAA Sports History Website, Accessed December 5, 2006
  9. ^ "About USC - Administration". USC. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
  10. ^ Stuart Silverstein, George Lucas Donates USC's Largest Single Gift, The Los Angeles Times, September 19, 2006.
  11. ^ Angie Green, USC innovation institute reinventing itself, Los Angeles Times, March 29, 2007.
  12. ^ NCA reputational rankings of Ph.D. programs in Rhetoric, National Communication Association, 2004; see also NCA's 1996 rankings.
  13. ^ "School Overview". USC Annenberg. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  14. ^ http://annenberg.usc.edu/AboutUs/News/0430CowanChair.aspx
  15. ^ Top 500 World Universities, Academic Ranking of World Universities 2006, Accessed March 1, 2007.
  16. ^ Top 100 North & Latin American Universities, Academic Ranking of World Universities 2006, Accessed March 1, 2007.
  17. ^ Top 100 world universities in Engineering/Technology and Computer Sciences, 2007 Academic Ranking of World Universities by Broad Subject Fields, Accessed March 1, 2007.
  18. ^ Top 100 world universities in Social Sciences, 2007 Academic Ranking of World Universities by Broad Subject Fields, Accessed March 1, 2007.
  19. ^ Top 100 world universities in Clinical Medicine and Pharmacy, 2007 Academic Ranking of World Universities by Broad Subject Fields, Accessed March 1, 2007.
  20. ^ Education news & resources at the Times Higher Education Supplement, retrieved July 7, 2006
  21. ^ a b See The Top American Research Universities (2005), page 34 (pdf).
  22. ^ America's Best Colleges 2008, US News & World Report, Accessed August 17, 2007.
  23. ^ USC School of Cinematic Arts
  24. ^ America's Best Colleges 2006, US News & World Report, page 112; see also MSB - Undergraduate Programs, Marshall School of Business
  25. ^ America's Best Colleges 2006, US News & World Report, page 112
  26. ^ id.
  27. ^ America's Best Colleges 2006, US News & World Report, page 112; see also MSB - Undergraduate Programs, Marshall School of Business
  28. ^ America's Best Colleges 2006, US News & World Report, page 114
  29. ^ Complete Guide to Public Affairs Programs, America's Best Graduate Schools 2008, Accessed August 28, 2007 (note: some specific rankings were last compiled in 2004 and are still used as "current").
  30. ^ Wall Street Journal Rankings
  31. ^ Chantal Garcia, VKC: A president's legacy, Daily Trojan, September 15, 2004.
  32. ^ Specifically Hong Kong, China; Jakarta, Indonesia; Taipei, Taiwan; Mexico City; and Tokyo, Japan. USC International Offices
  33. ^ a b All Enrolled Students, by Ethnicity (2007), USC at a Glance, Accessed March 7, 2007.
  34. ^ Freshman Profile and Admission Information 2007 - 2008, USC Office of Admission, Accessed September 28, 2007.
  35. ^ "USC at a Glance: Alumni Facts 2006-2007". USC. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
  36. ^ http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/...1029410.shtml
  37. ^ http://www.usc.edu/research/centers
  38. ^ http://www.usc.edu/academe/faculty/research/research_centers
  39. ^ John Walters, Does it get any better than this?, SI.com, October 13, 2005.
  40. ^ The NCAA does not conduct a championship for Division I-A football. Instead, teams are awarded championships by various private organizations, currently the recognized championships are awarded by the Associated Press poll and the Bowl Championship Series --however not always in unison.
  41. ^ Rajan Menghani, Pranks of the past, present, The Daily Bruin, December 01, 2005.
  42. ^ The precise colors can be found on the USC Graphic Identity Program website: the correct Pantone color for USC Cardinal is PMS® 201C) and USC Gold is PMS 123C.
  43. ^ "The Dance", Fleetwood Mac, RIAA Gold and Platinum Database.
  44. ^ USC Basics, USC.edu, Accessed September 18, 2007.
  45. ^ Ashley Christensen, Not your average marching band, Daily Trojan, August 18, 2004.
  46. ^ Katie Hill, El Rodeo yearbook fears for its future after cuts, Daily Trojan, March 29, 2007.
  47. ^ [2]
  48. ^ a b c d Gina Goodhill (26 Dec 2003). "USC sheds conservative image". CNN. Retrieved 2007-04-26. Cite error: The named reference "e4" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  49. ^ Jeff Sklar, From Nixon to Nader, November 1, 2000, accessed December 17, 2006.
  50. ^ Jeff Sklar, From Nixon to Nader, November 1, 2000, accessed December 17, 2006.
  51. ^ Carl Bernstein speaking to Donald Segretti: "At USC, you had a word the this--screwing up the opposition you all did it at college and called it ratfucking.", Screenplay for All The Presidents Men (1976), accessed December 17, 2006.
  52. ^ a b Filming History, USC Campus Filming Office.
  53. ^ TV Filming History, USC Campus Filming Office.
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